Parents Who Teach at the University of Alabama’s Nursing School Were Practically Encouraged to Quit

A dean’s email seemed to ignore options for working parents.

University of Alabama welcome sign

sshepard/GETTY

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

Suzanne Prevost, the dean of University of Alabama’s Capstone College of Nursing, sent out an email on Thursday that elicited shockwaves through the university’s faculty. In the email, which went out to the nursing school’s faculty, Dean Prevost explained that she is “acutely aware” of the challenges of getting back to work right now and that those challenges are “especially pertinent for those of you,” she wrote in bold, “with school aged children.” She then implored her staff to let her know in advance if they would not be able to work in the fall so that the college will “have time to hire a new faculty member to replace you.”

“We wish that we had unlimited abilities to flex schedules and ‘make it work’ for everyone,” she wrote, “but this is just not the case.”

Dean Prevost wrote that she “wish[es] this thing would ‘just go away”’ and ended on the somber acknowledgement that”our wishes are not our reality.” (The word “wish” appeared four times in the email, suggesting that the resources Dean Prevost had at her disposal were tantamount to a pile of pennies aimed into an available fountain.)

As the Twitter thread on @SafeReturnUA‘s account pointed out, every University of Alabama faculty member has a right to twelve weeks of emergency Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) per federal law, which could cover paid leave should children have to remain home because of the coronavirus (most Alabama schools are planning to reopen in the fall). Her email also omitted information about how the University of Alabama has expanded FMLA following Congress’ passage of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). The expansion provides more paid family leave benefits and emergency paid sick leave benefits, which faculty with children might find especially useful.

But many faculty at the College of Nursing are on contracts without long-term job security, making them more vulnerable to losing their jobs and the benefits that come with them. Identifying themselves as less available to work in the fall could jeopardize their chances for future employment at the University of Alabama, as made clear in the email. Despite repeated assurances from the University of Alabama’s administration that budget constrictions will not affect employees, four instructors in the English Language Institute recently did not have their contracts renewed. Since they were on contract, this technically does not count as a lay off or furlough. 

Dr. Jack Carey, an instructor at the University of Alabama’s Department of American Studies, who is involved with the United Campus Workers of Alabama and the Safe Return UA initiative, said that the email is indicative of a broader issue at the University of Alabama, which is planning to reinstate in-person classes in the fall.

“It taps into this general pattern where you have a lack of transparency, no clear communication about what’s available to people, and the university putting the burden on the workers to deal with its plans to have face-to-face instruction,” he said. “I don’t feel like it’s clear to staff, even if they become aware of these opportunities for support, how to access them.”

Following the backlash to the email, which was reposted on Twitter and Facebook by United Campus Workers Alabama, Dean Prevost issued a statement on Friday clarifying that she “did not mean to suggest that any of you should resign from your faculty positions or that you will be terminated if you are unable to return to work.” The statement also linked to the paid family leave available to staff.   

Aside from the confused messaging, why were only faculty members of the nursing school recipients of such a missive? Could it have something to do with their gender? According to the last census, nursing is a profession dominated by women—90% of the faculty at the University of Alabama’s College of Nursing use she/her pronouns on their website, reflecting the national trend.   

I have to wonder whether the same email would have ever gone out to faculty at the College of Engineering.

When I contacted the University of Alabama for comment, they said that “the University has been clear about its support and understanding of the challenges facing faculty, staff and students during these difficult times” and linked me to Dean Prevost’s new statement. But that won’t erase the initial impression of the email, which was shocking even to faculty like Carey, who has worked in academia for many years and understands the how precarious the job market is. 

“I was blown away by the email,” Carey said. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” 

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with the Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate